How can I help top of my tree?

I moved into a new house this last winter and this tree's leaves just stopped growing at the top this spring. I thought it might have been from a hailstorm but that was over a month ago and hasn't recovered still.

I've been watering it a lot the past few days and used an organic fertilizer.

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Well I cut back the tulips and took out the mulch. There really wasn't very much though. There's soil right up against the trunk. Is that OK or do I need to pull it back some so the tree can get a little more o2?

It looks like it was originally planted to deep or is over mulched. Good chance of a girdling root. Mulch should not be against the trunk. Pull it away then dig down gently until you find the root flair.

Well I dug down as gently as I could. And I definitely found some girdling by some smaller roots that I cut off. I found a few that were about the size of a cell phone charger cord that seemed to be strangulating quite a bit.

But now it seems like some of these other bigger roots still might be girdling? I wanted to see what you thought before I did anything dumb.

No root flare, tree was planted like a tomato . Since you dug but did not find the root flare and found instead girdling look into proper planting for the next tree that is planted. Make sure you or your contractor does the job right!https://www.treesaregood.org/treeowner/plantingatree

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The trunk is girdled. You can try to cut it out but the prognosis is not good. That' being said it worth a try if you would like to keep the tree. Get a good set od chisels and make a clean cut. Google pruning girdling root.

You can try by chiseling the girding roots away but the too deep problem will still be there. If you want to try, "go for it" but my recommendation would be study correct planting methods and plant its replacement too because; even if you make it survive, it will likely be out performed by a new plant planted correctly.

You can try by chiseling the girding roots away but the too deep problem will still be there. If you want to try, "go for it" but my recommendation would be study correct planting methods and plant its replacement too because; even if you make it survive, it will likely be out performed by a new plant planted correctly.

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Well I'm going for it for now. It's definitely not the best time to plant anything right now anyway.

Hopefully I can get it to last a bit longer and I can replant something new this fall or next spring.